Nothing to Forgive
by Miraculous-Content
Summary: (post-"Desperada") Marinette regretted giving Adrien Luka's guitar. She hadn't been thinking, and by the time she could've fixed it, Vivica was already back on as Jagged's guitarist. But, as she goes to bring it up with Luka, she finds that he reacts in a way she didn't expect.


Marinette _lived_ in emotion; strong, _powerful,_ emotions. Whatever she felt, she felt it to the maximum possible limit.

Thus, now that her day with Adrien was over, she was tired to the _nth degree._ Feeling so much at once would obviously lead to an inevitable crash, not helped by how her heart was still pounding from the experience.

She slouched over the arm of the couch, letting herself hang off the side as she watched Luka silently strum his guitar. The others had already gone home, but Marinette wasn't inclined to move until she regained feeling in her limbs.

Luka met her gaze, his expression showing a hint of amusement as he stopped playing. "You can leave whenever you want, Marinette."

She looked away from him, then relaxed deeper into the couch in retaliation. "Noted. Thanks."

She heard Luka chuckle, the strumming of his guitar continuing. She waited until she was sure he wasn't looking anymore, then glanced back at him.

He was truly in his element, and Marinette felt a guilt building in her stomach as she eyed his guitar specifically. She'd already lamented over the misunderstanding with Tikki, but it didn't make her feel any less bad for it.

She'd really thought that Adrien had been who Alya was directing her towards. It just seemed like an "Alya" thing to do, and Adrien was a fan of Jagged too, so why not?

Well, Marinette _knew_ why not.

"…Luka."

He straightened, perhaps due to the tone in her voice, then looked over. He stared silently at her for a bit longer than she would've liked before letting out a, "Yeah?"

She hesitated, chewing at her bottom lip. It'd been easy to interact with him as Ladybug since he didn't know that it was _her_ who had neglected him for Adrien. Now though, saying _anything_ was a hassle and a half.

"I…I'm—"

"I know," he interjected.

She blinked at him. "W-what?"

He strummed a single string, smiling at her. "It's okay, Marinette. You don't have to explain anything."

"But—" She paused, completely flabbergasted. "I mean, I was so distracted by Adrien that—"

"I know," he repeated. "That's just how you feel. I don't mind."

She sat up, clutching the arm of the couch with both hands. "D-didn't you want to play with Jagged Stone?!"

"Of course I did," he replied coolly, "but I'm not a solo artist either."

Marinette's eyes widened. "Kitty Section," she whispered in realization.

Luka nodded. "It wouldn't be fair if I got to go alone. I'd want to take the rest of the band with me."

She let out a baffled noise at how _selfless_ that sounded. She shook her head, averting her gaze and raising a hand to the side of her face as if Luka was a ray of blinding sunlight. "You're too sweet, Luka."

She heard his footsteps approaching and looked back to see him coming towards her. Sheepishly, she moved her legs from the couch, planting her feet firmly on the floor to give him room to sit.

He sat down next to her, the base of his guitar resting on one leg while the neck of it was against his shoulder, his grip supporting it. "You try so hard for the people you care about, Marinette, and you play your music loud enough for everyone to hear. I think that's beautiful."

She frowned, lowering her voice as she admitted bitterly, "But I wish I could control it a bit better."

Luka hummed, not exactly disagreeing, but leaving her to her thoughts. Marinette appreciated that; the fact that he knew when to step in and when to leave her alone.

"S-so…" She tapped her index fingers together. "You're not mad then?"

"Not at all," he confirmed.

"E-even about what Kagami said?"

He blinked, then made a confused face at her, seeming to have no idea what she meant. Had Marinette not been so serious, she may have found the expression comical.

"She—she called you my boyfriend," she reminded him as she stared at the floor. "I-I don't know why I didn't say anything right away, b-but… I guess maybe we sort of looked it when they came in. I didn't really think about it."

Which was true. She hadn't thought about Luka's hand on her shoulder, or the lingering warmth his guitar had from how he'd constantly held it. If it had been Adrien, the hand would've burned her shoulder, and she would've been too scared about dropping the guitar to focus.

It was a _fact_ that she and Luka weren't dating, and Marinette knew that. Despite it, she'd hesitated to correct something that just wasn't true. She couldn't deny that Luka was wonderful, mature, and kind, and she did like him, but he definitely wasn't her boyfriend.

No. He was just a friend, because—

"You deserve better than me anyway," she thought aloud.

There was a dull thumping sound that came from beside her, and she looked over to see that Luka's guitar had fallen from his hands and hit the couch.

It took Marinette a second to realize what she'd just said. She gaped, covering her hand with her mouth as her heart twisted in knots from the self-deprecating comment she'd made. "U-um—I didn't—I mean—I—"

She cut herself off as Luka suddenly moved closer to her. She felt a warmth against her cheek—Luka's hand—and stiffened in surprise as he leaned close to her.

Marinette didn't have time to react. His lips touched her cheek, and the warmth spread to her face in the form of a blush. She inhaled sharply, but didn't recoil.

After a fleeting second, Luka pulled away, staring at her with an expression that she couldn't place. His eyes seemed distant, his mouth just slightly open as if he had something else he wanted to say.

Yet, as the light returned to his eyes, his mouth closed. Immediately, his hand left her cheek, and he turned his attention to his fallen guitar.

For once, he looked speechless, like he hadn't planned on doing that. Marinette couldn't blame him; her body had gone numb from the sensation of his kiss.

She relaxed her hand along her face, her fingers pressing against where he'd kissed and her thumb resting where his hand had been. To say that she was on an emotional high wasn't accurate; her heart wasn't about to explode and she didn't feel her nerves about to override her movements.

Instead, while she continued to focus on Luka, the rest of the world remained in existence. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, but the thumping against her chest was a simple, soft beat. Involuntarily, her shoulders relaxed.

It was nice, actually. It was _pleasant._ She _liked_ it.

She might've even loved it.


End file.
